Sailing through Tulips

Netherlands Bike + Boat Tour

Biking and Sailing Tulip Tour

Finally we have this wonderful opportunity to offer 4 and  5 day sailing experiences during Tulip season in Holland! Aboard your sailing vessel, the Succes and on your bicycle, you will explore the coastline of North Holland during peak Tulip Season.There  is a small window of opportunity to see these spectacular Tulip fields abloom and awash in color before the bulbs are cut back. This tour strives to sail through the fields during the peak of the season.

The history of the Tulip is fascinating.  Originally a wild flower, growing in Central Asia, it was first cultivated by the Turks as early as 1000 A.D.  The flower was introduced in Western Europe and the Netherlands in the 17th century by Carolus Clusius, a famous biologist from Vienna. His colleague had seen the beautiful flower called the Tulip, Turkish word for turban, growing in the palace gardens in then, Constantinople. Clusius planted them and this was the beginning of the amazing bulb fields we see today.

The tulip has come to be a much loved symbol of the Netherlands. The view of the bulb fields with Tulips abloom is breathtaking.  The season begins in March with crocuses, followed by the Daffodil and the yellow Narcissus. In April the Hyacinths and Tulips blossom, though the peak of the season is as hard to predict as the weather.   Even when spring is over, the Netherlands is still a garden.

Please visit the official site of the Keukenhof for more information about the amazing gardens.

Tulip Mania still exists!

Where You’ll Stay

On board the traditional sailing vessel, the Success.

What’s Included

• 4 or 3 nights accommodations
• Breakfasts, packed lunches, dinners (including coffee, tea and milk)
• Bus excursion to the Keukenhof
• Guided tour of the cheese market
• Maps and route descriptions
• 7 speed hybrid bicycle

What’s Not Included

• Grachten tour in Amsterdam (approx. €14)

Tour Dates

• 5 days/4 nights: (Volendam - Alkmaar)
• April 2, April 9, April 16 and April 23, 2012.
• 4 days/3 nights: (Alkmaar - Amsterdam)
• April 6, April 13, April 20 and April 27, 2012.
• *Tour dates are no longer available for booking for 2012.

Skill Level

Bike tours are between 16 mi. and 33 mi. (26 to 52 km). The route is generally flat on paved bike paths and along smaller side roads.

Tour Boats

• Succes

Day-To-Day Itinerary

5 Days/4 Nights:

1. Arrival in Volendam.
2. Volendam - Amsterdam
3. Amsterdam - Zaandam
4. Zaandam-Alkmaar
5. Disembarkation 

Daily cycling distances are between 16 and 32 mi. (26 and 52 km)

DAY 1: Individual arrival and embarkation at 6 pm.
Volendam is on the coast of the Markermeer. Lake Markermeer is a lake that was not meant to be,  however, it is now a popular vacation destination, sailing paradise and nature reserve.  

The Markermeer and the IJmeer combined provide access to a conservation and recreation area of nearly 80,000 hectares. The extensive open waters and the varied coastline possess unique qualities. The lakes are a key link in the international routes of migratory birds. The presence of many thousands of birds is one of the reasons why this area enjoys protection.

DAY 2: Volendam - Amsterdam
Your bicycle tour begins in Volendam and leads via Monnickendam along the green landscape of  Waterland to Broek and then on to Amsterdam. An alternative would be to sail from Volendam to Amsterdam if you would rather not cycle.  Like so many areas in Holland, Waterland was marsh land when the first settlers arrived around the year 1000 or even before.  The peat was harvested and canals dug to drain the land but this also caused lowering of the land. A dike was needed to protect the area from flooding. The area never got dry enough to be used for agriculture so the settlers concentrated on keeping cattle for milk and  dairy production  increasingly developed. Once in Amsterdam, you have the opportunity to take a "Grachten tour" or canal tour  to explore Amsterdam.

DAY 3: Amsterdam - Zaandam
Excursion by bus to the famous Keukenhof, also known as the Garden of Europe, situated near Lisse, Netherlands. It is the world's largest flower garden. According to the official website for the Keukenhof, approximately seven million flower bulbs are planted annually in the park, which covers an area of 32 hectares.  In the afternoon,   the  Succes travelsfrom Amsterdam to Zaandam to the Zaanse Schans. This fully inhabited, open-air conservation area and museum, is located just a few miles north of Amsterdam. Here you get a vivid impression of the Dutch way of life in the 17th and 18th centuries. The area consists of authentic houses, a historic shipyard, a pewter factory, a cheese and dairy farm, a age-old grocery store, clog-making demonstrations, and above all, lots of windmills.

DAY 4: Zaandam - Alkmaar
You will cycle from Zaandam through Krommenie, Uitgeest, and Akersloot to Alkmaar. You can also opt to remain on board.  You will have the opportunity to stroll through Alkmaar, Holland's cheese town. During the season from the first Friday of April to the first Friday of September a traditional cheese market is held  on Friday mornings between 10 and 12.30. The cheeses are sold by dealers on a clap of hands. Thereupon the 400 year old cheese porters' guild goes into action, carrying the cheese off on barrows after the lot has been weighed at the Waag Building. In this Waagge bouw - in which the scales are housed - a cheese museum that tells everything about dairy farming has been established.

DAY 5: Alkmaar
Guided tour of the traditional cheese market in Alkmaar. Disembarkation is around 12:30 pm.

4 Days/3 Nights:

1. Arrival in Alkmaar
2. Alkmaar - Zaandam
3. Zaandam - Amsterdam
4. Disembarkation

DAY 1: Individual arrival and embarkation at 6 pm.

DAY 2: Alkmaar - Zaandam
Via Akersloot, Uitgeest and Krommenie to Zaandam and the open air museum, Zaanse Schans, where you can discover old Dutch residences and work places. A cheese dairy, a wooden shoe carver, windmills and much more! You can also sail to Zaanse Schans aboard the Succes.

DAY 3: Zaandam - Amsterdam
Excursion by bus to the Keukenhof after a morning sail to Amsterdam. Opportunity to tour Amsterdam aboard a Gracht and/or take a stroll through the city.

DAY 4: Disembarkation in Amsterdam or sail to Volendam for disembarkation at about 12 pm
Disembarkation at 9 am in Amsterdam or on request, you can sail with the Succes across the Ijsselmeer to Volendam.

Book This Trip

Questions? Call us! 877-965-2064 or e-mail us